Price$45.00
Media TypeTrick
CategoryGeneral, Stage, Mentalism
Date AddedJun 23, 2016
Larry's Bag
Mago Larry
(Based on 2 reviews)
You show an empty bag to your spectator and they confirm that it is indeed empty. Now you ask your spectator to fill the bag with pieces of torn up cards that are laid out on a table next to an envelope. You shake up the bag and let the spectator shake up the bag. Next you ask the spectator to open the bag and take out one of the torn up card pieces from the bag. Now you open the envelope that has been sitting on the table the whole time and pull out a card that has a corner torn off of it. Amazingly it matches with the exact piece that the spectator pulled out of the bag!
Larry's Bag can be applied with newspapers or magazines. You are only limited by your imagination!
Includes an instructional video in English and Spanish.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Effect
A see through mesh bag filled with match books from different hotels is shown to an assistant. The bag is open and several match books are taken from the bag and read, noting that the match books come from different hotels and from different parts of the country. The match books are put back, the bag zipped up and handed to the assistant. They are then instructed to shake the bag, unzip it, reach in and grab one match book. The name of the hotel the match book came from is read. On a table, off to the side there is an envelope, a prediction. The prediction is read, it’s the same hotel that is printed on the match book. This and numerous other routines can be done with The Larry Bag.Method
The Larry Bag is a well-constructed force bag which allows the spectator to open it up and retrieve an item. Unlike all the other force bags I have seen on the market, this one allows the spectator to open the bag, retrieve the item and feel that they are in total control. Utilizing a clever design with magnetic closure, The Larry Bag is totally unique. As with all routines using methods such as this, a modicum of audience management is needed to make sure of a successful outcome.Product Quality
The construction of the bag is superb. I particularly like the mesh design vs. a zip lock style bag, it adds some class to the routine. The zipper and associated components seem to be well made and the bag should last years of performance. The downloadable video is about 23 minutes long and covers several routines. The explanation is in Spanish and dubbed in English. The routines covered looks great on video but does require you to “hide” force items under a flap in the bag and I’m a bit suspect of that approach so I would recommend if you are a bit nervous about exposure, do routine where the items are already on their appropriate sides.Ad Copy Integrity
The ad copy is concise but accurate. As good as this product is, I think more could have been done on the performance portion of the video.Suggestions
The match book routine mentioned in the opening paragraph was one that I have done before with It’s a Match & It’s a Match 2.0 by Elmwood Magic.(Top ▲)
Larry's Bag by Mago Larry is a mostly transparent forcing bag made out of tight black mesh netting with two compartments and a zipper closed top. The device itself is 9 inches by 9 inches and 12 inches on the diagonal. There are some things I like about the bag and some things I don't. With the product you get a 23 minute streaming vimeo instructional video that cannot be downloaded.
I like the way the bag looks and with appropriate audience management the spectator can open the bag. I will use this bag, but unlike the ad copy, I don't think starting empty (apparently) is a real good idea. The idea that the bag can start empty and get filled by the spectator was one I really liked. It is, unfortunately, not as clear cut as that. While the bag possibly looks like it is empty to start off (and not "indeed" empty as indicated in the ad copy) there is an issue with loading the force billet or card scraps. The suggested way in which the force paper is supposed to be loaded is easy, but does not work very well. For that reason, my bag will start full. You can allow the spectator to open the bag which is a bonus, but don't leave the back in their hands for too long.
The quality of the instructional video is not great. It is taught in Spanish and the English translation is a bit slow. Nonetheless, it is easy to understand and follow. A few routines are taught. In one, several torn cards corners are loaded by the spectator and after they are mixed up by a good shake, the spectator opens the bag, pulls out one card corner which matches a torn card that is in a prediction envelope from the beginning of the trick. Another routine is taught in which a torn newspaper is dumped in the bag, it is mixed and then a single piece is removed by the spectator. The spectator silently reads the word on the scrap of paper and the performer then guesses the word. As indicated above, I would not do either of these routines as they start with an apparently empty bag and it is hard to dislodge the force papers. Another reason that I do not like this idea, as presented, is because I think a spectator will notice the absence of many scraps of papers when they reach inside the bag.
The bag that I received was somewhat frayed with loose threads all over the inside of the bag. It didn't matter to me too much, but it effects the overall rating of this trick. Also, the gimmicked part of the bag has a clever mechanism that allows the spectator to open the bag without revealing a second compartment. That mechanism can get bent out of shape easily (and fixed easily too) but that issue is not addressed in the video.
I think the bag is a little bit pricey, but no too much.
Despite the stated flaws, I still like Larry and his bag.
I like the way the bag looks and with appropriate audience management the spectator can open the bag. I will use this bag, but unlike the ad copy, I don't think starting empty (apparently) is a real good idea. The idea that the bag can start empty and get filled by the spectator was one I really liked. It is, unfortunately, not as clear cut as that. While the bag possibly looks like it is empty to start off (and not "indeed" empty as indicated in the ad copy) there is an issue with loading the force billet or card scraps. The suggested way in which the force paper is supposed to be loaded is easy, but does not work very well. For that reason, my bag will start full. You can allow the spectator to open the bag which is a bonus, but don't leave the back in their hands for too long.
The quality of the instructional video is not great. It is taught in Spanish and the English translation is a bit slow. Nonetheless, it is easy to understand and follow. A few routines are taught. In one, several torn cards corners are loaded by the spectator and after they are mixed up by a good shake, the spectator opens the bag, pulls out one card corner which matches a torn card that is in a prediction envelope from the beginning of the trick. Another routine is taught in which a torn newspaper is dumped in the bag, it is mixed and then a single piece is removed by the spectator. The spectator silently reads the word on the scrap of paper and the performer then guesses the word. As indicated above, I would not do either of these routines as they start with an apparently empty bag and it is hard to dislodge the force papers. Another reason that I do not like this idea, as presented, is because I think a spectator will notice the absence of many scraps of papers when they reach inside the bag.
The bag that I received was somewhat frayed with loose threads all over the inside of the bag. It didn't matter to me too much, but it effects the overall rating of this trick. Also, the gimmicked part of the bag has a clever mechanism that allows the spectator to open the bag without revealing a second compartment. That mechanism can get bent out of shape easily (and fixed easily too) but that issue is not addressed in the video.
I think the bag is a little bit pricey, but no too much.
Despite the stated flaws, I still like Larry and his bag.